Jump to ratings and reviews

The Maintenance Man

"Momma said don't play with fire, 'cause one day, you might get burned..."Malachi is a self-proclaimed ladies man; others would describe him as a dog. He claims to be madly in love with his girlfriend, Zoe, but can't seem to stop talking to other women.Everything appears to be going well for him, until the bodies start dropping.Caught up in a race against time with too many suspects to figure out who's after him, it's time for Malachi to finally come clean. He wants to do the right thing, but his conscience is often clouded by bad decisions. Is there a chance for Malachi's redemption?Or is he just biding his time until his number is called?

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 28, 2021

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Tanisha Stewart

176 books489 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
154 (51%)
4 stars
76 (25%)
3 stars
51 (17%)
2 stars
11 (3%)
1 star
8 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
Profile Image for Denise Gilliam.
715 reviews21 followers
February 8, 2022
This book was crazy from start to finish. Malachi was a big time ladies man and it almost cost him life. This book had so many twist and turns. You thought you knew what was going to happen and this author threw that mean curve ball into the mix. I’m just happy that Malachi was able to rekindle his relationship with his son. I could go on and on but I would tell the story so you have to read it. I promise you that you won’t be disappointed at all. Great job again Tanisha

PS
The Avenger was a great touch to this book. You will definitely be surprised when you find out the about this avenger character…..
Profile Image for Diane Colvin.
2,225 reviews21 followers
January 3, 2022
Fire Read!

I loved this book. It was good from the beginning to the end. This book had me going back and forth on who the avenger was. I was shocked! Fire read!
Profile Image for Charlene (Char) ❤︎ ❀˖° ❤︎.
650 reviews31 followers
April 20, 2026
Be careful what you do and who you hurt it’ll always come back on you. Malachi a ladies man if you will cannot seem to stay faithful to his long time girlfriend. He keeps cheating on her with his baby momma and any woman who’ll have him. All of that changes when a person only known as the avenger decides to turn his life upside down due to his past and current transgressions. I definitely enjoyed this audio book.
Profile Image for J.R. Mason.
Author 9 books96 followers
September 18, 2024
Everyone was the stalker! 😂

I guessed about four different people for for completely different reasons because my mind is a special place LOL I ended up being right, but it's definitely had me trying to figure some things out. One thing this author will always do is THE MOST 😂 I'm almost positive I contracted some incurable STD reading this, so if you'll excuse me while I head on over to the doctor's office for an antibiotic of some sort. Otherwise, I enjoyed it and would highly recommend if you're looking for a scandalous but relatively clean romantic thriller.
455 reviews4 followers
September 25, 2022
Injustice

Malachi was a man-child at age 35 who whined far too often that he didn’t want to be like his father who fathers other children with different women. Frankly he was annoying and he bred no sympathy. The Avenger was obvious because of the deleted messages and disappearances. However the members were an unexpected twist. However the story was based on the Avenger’s set of excessive consequences that over killed the alleged crime. The author overshot without a sound foundation resulting in lack of investment in the characters. This story totally missed me. It was too dry and lacked enough warmth. Luckily, it’s a one-day read.
Profile Image for Ladonna Maiden.
41 reviews
February 18, 2022
whewwwww

This was a good book. Malachi kinda slow w though lol. Are I’m just to much of a PI lol.
Profile Image for TheReaderVert .
949 reviews44 followers
May 6, 2026
Loss in the sauce

As a Thriller Triangle Romance somewhere around 34% I realized that the story was feeling very repetitive, very going around in circles, and nothing was really moving forward on a lot of fronts. The highs and lows:

#CheaterCheaterPumpkinEater
🔧Malachi was kind of an intriguing character. Immediately it was obvious that his past trauma is why he was a serial cheater but also that his heart was very much so beating for one woman, the one he messed up and screwed up through insecurity, Aryn. But this is also where the book falls down and doesn't feel complete. Before the epilogue we don't truly explore if Malachi works out the hurt his HS girlfriend caused and explained that hurt to Aryn or revealed it to anyone else. Plus, we don't know why some characters would drop personal details about these situations but those details be wrong. Bankz saying "I know y'all were some high sweethearts" is just wrong-- so this leads me question why was it stated? What was that about? Was Bankz comments also apart of the larger deception? Moments like these inconsistent or wrong character details end up ripping the fabric of the mystery for the thriller to make sense.

#CastofCharacters
🔧Further ripping apart the overall suspense was the mystery surrounding Aryn and her relationship with Bankz. Honestly that was the most interesting part of the book, "was she being abused?" "For how long?" "Will Malachi be able to rescue her (in time)?" These questions kept me invested, unfortunately we get answers in small pieces stretched out. And the timeline for how this fits into the larger mystery is wonky.

#LoveTriangleMoreLikeHexagon
🔧I thought the love triangle was going to involve Aryn + (her clearly off relationship) with Bankz + Malachi + (his internal struggle his dream girl) Zoe as the major focus. Aryn/Bankz + Malchi/Zoe. I was intrigued to see who Malachi would chose between the women and who would work out for his best...at first

🔧We get Malachi's full stable of women when his baby momma pops up and another one. It became abundantly clear that Malachi's baby mother was a non-factor and the new girl dropped in as a "really? Dang how many women does he have?" moment. It was clear they were meant as distractions or red herrings for the mystery. But that triangle of Malachi working on his feelings for Aryn and solving what was going on with her vs juggling his needs with Zoe is not what we got as the title suggested. Instead it became a one man show about his guilt over cheating, guilt over knowing he should do better for his son, and guilt over being a better man for Zoe.

#MysteryIsAsMysteryDoes
🔧By the time bodies start dropping I was confused because the angst and tone didn't seem serious. The stakes definitely didn't feel high at first. I thought it was very obvious who the Avenger was fairly early. The obviousness adds to the repetition. Somewhere I was like "why the world is the Avenger even doing all of this? How does this tie into everything else? purpose and outcome somewhere along the way which ties the mystery together? We never got a solid answer.

🔧A thriller thrives off the mystery being solved and the terror ending. I feel the pacing here didn't make sense we had too much of the repetition and circles for a good 64-80% of the book. Finally get some ground around 80%. This was new territory and added to the story but then boom 93% comes and everything is rushed. We aren't really given an opportunity to sense how this ending is working out when another twist is dropped with zero resolution.

Ultimately
... I thought "all of this because he's a cheater?!" Like none of the larger and bigger actions fit or made sense as justification because he was cheating. The penultimate outcomes for some of the characters were so FINAL it really made me go huh and just be confused by what the overall tone is here. Plus we never see any true emotional fallout from all aspects of how deep this deception went either, since the pacing felt off the last third of the book ended up giving us surface level results and HEAs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Shades.
1,047 reviews36 followers
January 23, 2022
Needed something to pull me out of the slump I’m in and this book did the trick. When I say CRAZY!!! you have no possible idea. Malachi is a hoe. Plain and simple. He got cheated on when he was younger and like most men, they harden their hearts to relationships and never open up to a woman again. Blah Blah. He is now in a relationship with Zoe but he still sleeps with his baby momma, still hung up over an ex who he feels got away because of his stupid mistake and he entertains countless women. Then thing is, he knows that he ain’t shit but he just can’t help himself when it comes to dating other women. His woman always told him “When you okay with fire, you will get burn.” Well baby, shit hit the fan and he was taken on a while ride that even had me shooketh to the core. He started getting these anonymous packages from a person called “The Avenger”. This person was documenting his whereabouts and informing him that he needed to come clean to his current girlfriend. This book is WILD with edge of your seat events that are just mind blowing. Malachi was being hit left and right I had no idea what was going on or who the culprit was. At one time I thought his best friend was sleeping with his baby momma but it didn’t turn out that way. The avenger is smart and deadly and wants revenge. Malachi is definitely wrong for what he was doing but I don’t necessarily feel he deserved the hell he went though. I’m telling you it’s definitely a thin line between love and hate. I felt the author did a great job of writing a suspenseful tale that kept me guessing and entertained. I felt the Avenger got off to easily but with money, anything is possible. I did want to know what happened to the two women who helped though. I felt the ending was rushed but overall, I enjoyed this story and would definitely read more from this author.


CW: murder, torture, cheating and gaslighting
Profile Image for Shannon  King.
335 reviews
June 1, 2026
Messy Choices, Deadly Consequences, and Plenty of Drama. The Maintenance Man was a fast-paced drama filled with secrets, betrayal, and plenty of suspense. The mystery surrounding the murders kept me curious, and I found myself wanting to know who was behind everything and how it would all unfold. Malachi was definitely a frustrating main character. His poor decisions and constant dishonesty made it difficult to root for him at times, but they also added to the tension of the story. Watching him deal with the consequences of his actions was both entertaining and aggravating.
The suspense elements were strong enough to keep the pages turning, though I felt some aspects of the plot could have been developed further. While the story delivered drama and twists, I wanted a deeper emotional connection to the characters and a more impactful payoff in the end.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with an intriguing mix of romance, drama, and mystery. It kept me invested, even if it didn't completely win me over. A solid 3-star read for readers who enjoy flawed characters, messy relationships, and suspenseful twists.
Profile Image for Lyric Rivera.
197 reviews
July 5, 2025
This book was good and page turning! It was predictable though but it did still have me questioning myself and my theories! I was surprised with the outcome of Zoe (a twist I didn’t see coming) and I think are too many men like Malachi who should read this and take notes! lol. Some women are really not to be messed with (and men!) It’s good that Malachi turned his life around but j wasn’t really too attached to him as a character to fully appreciate his growth in the end. Also, I didn’t like how 90% of the book he TALKED about making a change then he finally did when life hit the fan! Just me being picky, I wasn’t too big a fan of the author incorporating church as a part of his change. To me, it’s a cheap, predictable, overused go to. And mama Alice said “Quit being the maintenance man!” & tied the title up for me to give it a whole new meaning! I really like that! It was a good, fast paced read though and I’d read this author’s work again!
Profile Image for Amber Merrill.
19 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2026
The Bookish Breakdown 📚✨

Alright book besties, let’s talk about it… 👀📚

📚 Book Review: The Maintenance Man
✍🏾 Author: Tanisha Stewart
🌟 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh. Em. GEE.

I had NO clue who it was — like not even a little bit! Tanisha really got me with this one. I’m talmbout jaw on the floor… complete shock! 😮‍💨

The twists? Twisting. The suspense? Suspensing. I was fully locked in trying to figure it out and still got played. I love when a book can do that!

Now listen… it does lose one star because why are we chilling cabernet?! Ma’am… red wine does NOT go in the fridge 😂🍷 but I’ll let it slide because everything else? Chef’s kiss.

Final Thoughts:
If you like a story that keeps you guessing and then hits you with a “GOTCHA,” this one is definitely worth the read. Just… keep your wine at the right temperature while you do it 🤭

Read it… then come talk to me. 👀📚
Profile Image for Latasha Pennix.
92 reviews6 followers
May 16, 2026
This was one of those books where I kept trying to piece everything together and figure out who was really behind everything going on. Every time I thought I had it figured out, something else happened that made me question it all over again!! 😩

The suspense and mystery kept me locked in because I needed answers. And when the truth finally came out?! Yeah… I definitely did NOT expect it to be who it was!! 👏🏽

I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and how it kept me second guessing everyone. It made the reading experience more intense because you never really knew who to trust.

Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy drama, suspense, and trying to solve the mystery before the big reveal, this one is worth checking out!! 📚✨

1,635 reviews7 followers
January 13, 2022
Twisted

I just knew who the avenger was, almost from the beginning. But I was wrong, of course! Malachi had women in rotation and men hating on him, so I loved that there were so many prospects. Malachi was also running from himself, trying hard not to repeat his father's mistakes. With an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, of course he listened to the wrong one. I hated that he knew all his issues and just couldn't seem to do right until it was too late.
Great story with good flow that kept me swiping and on my toes.
Profile Image for Lady.
244 reviews3 followers
September 13, 2022
A Wild Ride

Chiiiiile, this joint was crazy as hell! I know I declared damn near everybody in this book the Avenger, including Malachi's own Mama lmao! One minute I was saying WTF?! and the next minute I was lmao. That's how much of a rollercoaster it is.

Although there is an epilogue, the ending was left open. However, the author didn't state anything about a Part II in the book.

If you want a suspense with a little comedy to it, read this one.
14 reviews
January 28, 2024
What a man

This was a page turner of who is doing all the negative occurrences. Malachi is the involved in so many long term relationships with women that truly loved him. However even smooth as he thought he was he had picked the wrong one. She had sent warnings to no avail. Should he and the others suffer because of his mistake? I would say no. Definitely it was a good read, I would recommend reading the book.
Profile Image for Abbey.
411 reviews4 followers
May 15, 2026
The level of unhinged that went on in this book, and not the good kind. In fact, deranged and delusional are probably better descriptors.

The hurt and damage this is caused when men decide to be as disloyal as possible while pretending to be in a committed relationship. Malachi truly was a selfish man and it showed in all of his relationships, with his mother, his best friends, his girlfriend and his side chicks. And he finally had to face the consequences of his actions.

This was a wild ride for real and the twists were good and had me saying IKYFL several times.
Profile Image for R  Ellis Jones.
256 reviews
December 29, 2021
Wheww!!!

This book right here had me on the edge of my seat! Reading this and trying to figure out who was the culprit had my head spinning!
He was a womanizer like his dad and he had a little of what he got, but Zoe went too far. I recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers!!!
Great job as usual. My #1 author, you never disappoint!!!!
Profile Image for Blkvelvet.
525 reviews14 followers
January 4, 2022
So many twists/turns... I thought I knew who the villan was but NOOOO. Seriously kept me guessing. This story was well written/edited and I look forward to reading more works from this author.

Based on that "cliff hanger ending" will there be a sequel? Hope so, this was a joy to read.

Brava Author-Thank you for the read.

BV11
Profile Image for Denise Cook-Godfrey.
Author 23 books24 followers
November 6, 2022
A Real Eye Opener

I loved how the author kept the suspense going! I also appreciated how Tanisha incorporated real to life soul issues that manifest in the lives of our young men when the Father is absent. The story line is well put together. I recommend this read. It’s an eye opener as well as a crazy roller coaster ride! You won’t want to put it down!
Profile Image for Sam Zeno.
131 reviews
March 16, 2026
oh my goodness

What a ride this was. It was filled with lots of twists and turns. I figured out the Avenger but then was thrown for a loop then brought back to my conclusions afterward. It gets messy when you cheat, but to do it so much that you can’t even pinpoint who could want to cause you harm is just sad.
Profile Image for Doretha Bradley.
465 reviews
January 8, 2022
Wow

Talk about twists and turns!!! Just when I knew I had it figured out, boom 🤯 the author proved me wrong. The "Maintenance Man" learned how to be a real man the hard. Grab a Dramamine, some wine 🍷 and treat yourself because this is one H3LL of a good ride!
Profile Image for LaKyshia Johnson.
901 reviews7 followers
January 15, 2022
Damn

I knew she was the crazy one. But the bestie being in on it was the death of me. That helfa was straight wicked. This book had my toes curling. Couldn't wait to see who was the blame.
Profile Image for Denise Brown.
1 review
April 1, 2023
Addicting!

Truly enjoyed the who did it type of reading. Finished in 2 days! Couldn't put it down! Highly recommend if you enjoy rude awakings ! On to Tanisha Stewart's next thriller!




Profile Image for Aleshia Gross.
405 reviews6 followers
October 17, 2025
Amazing

This book was crazy because it had so many twists. I was not surprised when the truth came out in the end. But he also got what he deserved because he should've stopped being a hoe.
6 reviews
January 6, 2022
🎢 BEST ROLLER COASTER RIDE EVER!!!

speaking of anxiety attacks lol whewww chile!!! This is the one!! I almost caught whiplash with all these twist & turns!!!
Profile Image for Royalteabookclub.
44 reviews2 followers
January 14, 2022
Well d*mn

Whoa Wow Wth. This book was fool of thrills & twist and turns all around and that ending was perfect. This thriller low key made me feel kind of giddy inside. LOVED THIS
1,055 reviews6 followers
January 25, 2022
Good read

This was just like a lifetime movie. I couldn't stop reading it until I got to the end. Just wow ! Good job
367 reviews3 followers
April 4, 2022
The Title Wasn't What I Expected!!!!!

This Is A Must Read, Your Head Will Definitely Be Spinning Trying To Figure Out Who Is What, What Is Who And Everything In Between!!!!!!!/
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews